Chapter LII (continued, part 5)
fultilnipnt of my promises (Exodus 4. 31 ; 6.3); revealing myself as "Jeliovah," i. e., not that the name was un-
it noun before, but that then first the /o?-ce of that name was manifesfed in the promises of God then being real-
ized in performances. 6. espied for tUem—as though
(jod liiid spied out all other lands, and chose Canaan as the best of all lands (Deuteronomy 8. 7, 8). See Daniel 8.
9; 11. 16, 41; " the glorious land ;" see Margin, " land of de-
liji^xt or ornament ;" Zechariali 7. 14, "the pleasant land,"
37). 17. Nevertheless—How marvellous tliat God should spare such sinners! His everlasting covenant explains
(.•r land of desire, glory of all lands i. e., Canaan was
'• tlie beauty of all lauds:" the most lovely and delightful lam! ; "milk and honey" are not the antecedents to " wliich." 7. Moses gives no formal statement of idol-
it; His long-suffering standing out in strilving contrast to their rebellions (Psalm 78. 38; Jeremiah 30. 11). 18. I said unto tlieir children—Being unwilling to speak any more to the fathers as being incorrigible, walk ye not in . . . statutes of . . . fathers—The traditions of the fathers are to be carefully weighed, not indiscriminately followed. He forbids the imitation of not only tlieir gross
atiies practised by Israel In Egypt. But it is implied iu their readiness to worship the golden calf (resembling the Egyptian ox, Apis) (Exodus 32.), which makes
It likely they had worshipped such Idols in Egypt. Also, in Leviticus 17.7, "They shall no more offer their
sacrifices unto devils (lit., Seirim, 'he-goats,' the symbol of the false god. Pan), after whom they have gone a-whoririg." The call of God by Moses was as much
sins, but even their plausible statutes. [Calvin. j 19. It
is an indirect denial of God, and a robbing Him of His due, to add man's inventions to His precepts. 30. (Jeremiah 17. 22.) 21. Though warned by the judgment on their fathers, the next generation also rebelled against God. The "kindness of Israel's youth and love of her espousals in the wilderness" (Jeremiah 2. 2, 3) were only comparative (the corruption in later times being more general), and confined to the minority; as a whole, Israel at no time fully served God. The "children" it was that
to them to separate from Idols and follow Jehovah, as
it was to Pharaoh to let them go forth. Exodus 6. 6, 7; Joshua 21. 14, expressly mentions their idolatry "in Jlgypt Hence the need of their being removed out of the contagion of Egyptian idolatries by the exodus, every one—so universal was the evil, of Ills eyes—It was nol li ar of their Egyptian masters, but their own lust of the eye that drew them to idols (ch. 6. 9 ; 18. 6). 8, 9. then I enid, I will . . . Bnt, &c.—i. e. (God speaking in condescension to liuman modes of conception) their spiritual degradation deserved I should destroy them, "but I jvrought
fell into the fearful apostasy on the plains of Moab at the close of the wilderness sojourn (Numbers 25. 1, 2; Deuteronomy 31. 27). 23. It was to that generation the threat of dispersion was proclaimed (Deuteronomy 28. 64; cf. ch. 29.
(riz., the deliverance 'out of . . . Egypt') for my name's
4). 25. I gave them . . . statutes . . . not good—since they would not follow my statutes that were good, "I gave them" their own {v. 18) and their fathers' "which were not good;" statutes spiritually corrupting, and, finally, as the consequence, destroying them? .Righteoos retribution (Psalm 81. 12; Hosea 8. 11; Romans 1. 21; 2 Thessalonians 2. 11). Verse 39 proves this view to be correct (ef. Isaiah 63. 17). Thus on the plains of Moab (Numbers 25.), in chastisement for the secret unfaithfulness to God in their hearts. He permitted Baal's worshippers to tempt them to Idolatry (the ready success of the tempters, moreover, proving the inward unsoundness of the tempted); and this again ended necessarily in punitive Judgments. 26. I polluted them—not directly ; "but I judicially gave them up to pollute themselves." A just retribution for their " polluting my Sabbaths" {v. 24). This V. 26 is explanatory of v. 25. Their own sin I made their punishment, caused to pass througli the f\re-~ Fairbaikn translates, "In Vae\r presenting (lit., the causing topass over) all their first-born," viz., to the Lord; referring to the command (Exodus 13. 12, Margin, where the very same expression is used). The lustration of children by passing through the fire was a later abomination {v. 31). The evil here spoken of was the admixture of heathenish, practices with Jehovah's worship, which made Him regard all as "polluted." Here, "to the Lord" is omitted purposely, to imply, "They kept up the outward service indeed, but I did not own it as done unto me, since it was mingled with such pollutions." But English Version is supported by the similar phraseology in v. 31, where see my note. They made all their children pass through the fire; but he names the first-born, in aggravation of their guilt; i.e., "I had willed that the firstborn should be redeemed as being mine, but they imposed on themselves the cruel rites of offering them to Molech" (Deuteronomy 18. 10). might know . . . the Iiord—that they may be compelled to know me as a powerful Judge, since the.v were unwilling to know me as a gracious Father. 27-29. The next period, viz., that which followed the settlement in Canaan; the fathers of the generation existing In Ezelclel's time walked in the same steps of apostasy as the generation in the wilderness. Yet in this—Not content with past rebellions, and not moved with gratitude for God's goodness, "yet In this"
dJikr-;" not for their merits (a rebuke to their national pride). Got 's " name" means the sum-total of His perfections; to niii'iifest these, His gratuitous mercy abounding above tlieirsins, yet without wrong to His Justice, and so to
set fortli His glory, was and is the ultimate end of His dealings (i-. 14, 22; 2 Samuel 7. 23; Isaiah 63. 12; Romans 9.
17). IX. wliicli if a man do, he shall , , . live in them —not " by them," as thougli they could justify a man, seeing that man cannot render the faultless obedience required (Leviticus 18. 5; Galatians 3. 12). "By them" is the expression indeed in Romans 10. 5; but there the design
is to show that, if man could obey all God's laws, he would be justified " by them" (Galatians 3. 21); but he cannot; he therefore needs to have justification by "the Lord our rigliteousness" (Jeremiah 23. 6); then, having thus received
life, lie " lives," t. e., maintains, enjoys, and'exercises this
life only in so far as he walks "in." the laws of God. So Deuteronomy 30. 15, 16. The Israelites, flw a nation, had life already freely given to them by God's covenant of promise; the laws of God were designed to be the means of the outward expression of their spiritual life. As the natural
life has its healthy manifestation In the full exercise of
Its powers, .so their spiritual being as a nation was to be developed in vigour, or else decay, according as they did, or did not, walk in God's laws. 13. Sabbaths ... a sign between me and them—a kind of sacramental pledge of llie covenant of adoption between God and His people. The Sabljath is specified as a sample of the whole law, to show tliat the law is not merely precepts, but privileges, of which tlie Sabbath is one of the highest. Not that the Kabl)ath was first Instituted at Sinai, as if it were an exclusively Jewish ordinance (Genesis 2. 2, 3), but it was then more formally enacted, when, owing to the apostasy of the world from the original revelation, one people was called out (Deuteronomy 5. 15) to be the covenant people of God. sanctify them—The observance of the Sabbath contemplated by God was not a mere outward rest, but a uplritunl dedication of the day to the glory of God and the good of man. Otherwise it would not be, as it is made, the pledge of u.iiversal sanctification (Exodus 31. 13-17; Isaiah .5«. 13, 14) Virtually It is said, all sanctity will flourish or decay, according as this ordinance is observed In Its full spirituality or not. 13. in the wilderness—
God Pivmiseth to Gather Israel EZEKIEL XX. ihrouyh the Power of the Gospd,
tiill further they rebelled, blasphemed—"have insulted me." [Calvin.] Even those who did not sacritice to beatheu gods have offered "their sacrifices" {v. 28) in forbidden places. !J8. provocation of their offering an offering as it were purposely made to provoke God. sweet savonr—what ought to have been sivect became otlensive by Ihcir corruptions. He specifies the various kinds of offerings, to show that in all alike they violated the law. 29. Wliat is the high place wliereunto ye go! What is the meaning of this name? For my altar is not so called. What excellence do ye see in it, that ye go there, rather than to my temple, the only lawful place of sacrificing? The very name, "high place," convicts you of sinning, not from ignorance but perverse rebellion. Is called . . . nnto this day—whereas this name ought to have been long since laid aside, along with the custom of sacrificing on liigh places which it represents, being borrowed from tlie heathen, who so called their places of
peoples among whom they were to be scattered, and from whom God saith (v. 34), "I will bring you out." In contrast to tlie literal " wilderness of Egypt" (i'. 30), " the wilderness of the peoples" is their «pi)-i7i(a^ wilderness period of trial, discipline and purification whilst exiled.among the nations. As the state when they are "brought into the wilderness of the peoples," and that when they were among the peoples "from" which God was to "bring them out" (v. 34) are distinguished, the wilderness state probably answers partially to the transition period of discipline from the first decree for their restoration by Cyrus to the time of their complete settlement in their land, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. But the full and final fulfilment is future; the wilderness state will comprise not only the transition period of their restoration, but the beginning of their occupancy of Palestine, a time in whicli they shall endure the sorest of all their chastisements, to "purge out the rebels" (v. 38; Daniel 12. 1), and then the remnant (Zechariah 1.3. 8, 9 ; 14. 2,3) shall "all servt God in the land" (t>. 40). Thus the wilderness period does not denote locality, but their slate intervening between their rejection and future restoration, plead—bring the matter in debate between us to an issue. Image from a plaintiff in a law court meeting the defendant "face to face." Appropriate, as God in Hia dealings acts not arbitrarily, but in most righteous justice (Jeremiah 2. 9; Micah 6. 2). 36. (Numbers 14. 21-29.) Though God saved them out of Egypt, He afterwards destroyed in the wilderness them that believed not (Jude
sacrifice (the Greeks, for instance, called them by a cognate term, Boinoi), whereas I call mine Mizbeaach, " altar." The very name implies the place is not that sanctioned by me, and therefore your sacrifices even to me there (much more those you offer tu idols) are only a " provocation"
to me (v. 28; Deuteronomy 12. 1-5). David and others,
it is true, sacrificed to God on high places, but it was under exceptional circumstances, and before the altar was set up on Mount Moriah. 30. The interrogation im-
plies a strong affirmation, as in v. 4, "Are ye not polluted? &c. Do ye not commit?" &c. Or, connecting this verse with i'. 31, "Are ye thus polluted, &c., and yet (do ye expect that) 1 shall be inquired of by you?" 31. through the lire—As " the fire" is omitted in v. 26, Fairbairn represents the generation here referred to (viz., that of Ezekiel's day) as attaining the climax of guilt (see Note,v.2(i), In making their children pass through the fire, which that former generation did not. The reason, however, for the omission of " the fire" in v. 26 is, perhaps, that there it is implied the children only "passed through the fire" for
5); so, though He brought the exiles out of Babylon, yet their wilderness state of chastening discipline continued even after they were again in Canaan. 37. pass under the rod—metaphor from a shepherd who makes his sheep
])ass under his rod in counting them (Leviticus 27. 32 ; Jeremiah 33. 13). Whether you will or not, ye shall be counted as mine, and so shall be subjected to my chastening discipline (Micah 7. 14), with a view to my ultimate saving of the chosen remnant (cf. John 10. 27-29). bond of . . . covenant—I will constrain you by sore chastisements to submit yourselves to the covenaytt to which ye are lastingly bound, though now you have cast away God's bond from you. Fulfilled in part, Nehemiah 9. 8, 26, 32-38; 10. 1-
purificatior;, whereas here they are actually burnt to death before the idol ; and therefore " the fire" is specified in the
latter, not in the former case (cf. 2 Kings 3. 27). 3it. We
Avill I)c as tlie heathen—and so escape the odium to which we are exposed, of having a peculiar God and law of our own. " We shall live on better terms with them by having a similar worship. Besides, we get from God nothing but threats and calamities, whereas the heathen, Chaldeans, Ac, get riches and power from their idols." How literally God's words here ("that . . . shall not be at all") are fulfilled in the modern Jews! Though the Jews seemed so likely (had Ezekiel spoken as an uninspired man) to have blended with the rest of mankind and laid aside their distinctive peculiarities, as was their wish at that time, yet they have remained for eighteen centuries dispersed .imong all nations and without a home, but still distinct: a standing witness for the truth of tlie prophecy given so long ago. 33. Here begins the second division of the prophecy. Lest the covenant people should abandon their distinctive hopes, and amalgamate with the surrounding heathen, ho tells them that, as the wilderness journey from Egypt was made subservient to discipline, and also to the taking from among them the reljcliious, so a severe discipline (such as the Jews are now for long actually undergoing) should be administered to them during the next exodus for the same purpose (v. 38), and so to prepare them for the restored possession of their land {Ho.sea 2. U, 15). This was only partially fulfilled before and at the return from Babylon:
39; fully hereafter, Isaiah 54. 10-13; 52. 1, 2. 38. (Zechariah
13.9; 14.2.) purge out—or, "separate." Hebrew, "Barothi," forming a designed alliteration with "Berith," the covenant. Not a promise of grace, but a threat against those Jews who thought they could in exile escape the observation and "rule" of God. land of Israel—though brought out of the country of their sojourn or exile (Babylon formerly, and the various lands of their exile hereafter) into tlie literal land of Palestine, even it shall be to them an exile state, " they shall not enter into the land of Israel," i. e., the spiritual state of restored favour of God to His covenant people, which shall only be given to the remnant to be saved (Zechariah 13.8,9). 39. Equivalent
to, "I would rather have you open idolaters than iiypo-
crites, fancying you can worship me and yet at the same time serve idols" (Amos 5. 21, 2'2, 2.5, 26; cf. 1 Kings 18. 21 ; 2 Kings 17. 41 ; Matthew 6. 24 ; Revelation 3. 15, 16). " Go ye, serve," &c., is not a command to serve idols, but a Judicial declaration of God's giving up of the half-idol, half-Jehovah worshippers to utter idolatry, if they will not serve Jehovah alone (Psalm 81. 12; Revelation 2'2. 11). hereafter also—God anticipates tlie same apostasy a^fferivards, as now. 4:0. For—Though ye, the rebellious portion, withdraw from my worship, others, even the believing remnant, will succeed after you perish, and will serve me purely, in mine lioly mountain—(Isaiah 2. 2, 3.) Zion, or Moriah, "the height of Israel" (pre-eminent above all mountains because of the manifested presence of God therewith Israel), as opposed to their "high places," the worship on which was an abomination to God. all—not merely individuals, such as constitute the elect Church now; but the whole nation, to be followed by the conver-
its full and final accomplishment Is future, with a migltty Iiand . . . will I mle over you—I will assert my right over you in spite of your resistance (v. 32), as a master would in the case of his slave, and I will not let you be wrested from me, because of my regard to my covenant. 31:. The Jews in exile might think themselves set free from the "rule" of God (v. S3); therefore. He intimates, He will reassert His right over them by chastening Judgments, and these, with an ultimate view, not to destroy, but to restore tliem. people—rather, peoples. 35. wildernrss of tlie people—rather, peopici, the various 692
sion of the Gentile 7intions (Isaiah 2. 2, "all nations ;" Romans 11. 26; Revelation 11.15). with—rather, " m all your holy things." [Mauukk.] 41. witli— i. e., in respect
to your sweet savonr (lit., savour of rest, Note, ch. 16. lOX
A Prophecy against Jerusalem. EZEKIEL XXI. A Stoord drawn against Israel.
sentences and mournful repetitions imply violent emo •
Or, I will accept you (your worship) "as a sweet savour" [Maurer] (Ephesians 5.2; Philippians i. 18). God first
tions. 9. sword— of God (Deuteronomy 32. 41). The Chaldeans are his instrument. 10. to make a sore slaughter—/t/., "that killing it may kill." glitter—irt.,
accepts the person in Messiah, then the offering (v. 40; Genesis 4. 4). bring . . . out from . . . people, &c.—the same woids as in v. 34; but there applied to the bringing
glitter as the lightning-flasft : flashing terror into the foe. should we . . . make mirth— it is no time for levity when such a calamity is impending (Isaiah 22. 12, 13). it contemnetli tlie rod of my son, <fec.—The sword has no more respect to the trivial "rod" or sceptre of Judali (Genesis 49.10), than if it were any common "tree." "Tree" Is the image retained from ch. 20. 47; explained
forth of the hypocrites, as well as the elect ; here restricted
to the saved remnant, who alone shall be at last restored
literally and spiritually in the fullest sense, sancttiied in you before . . . heathen—(Jeremiah 33. 9). All the nations will acknowledge my power displayed In restoring you, and so shall be led to seek me (Isaiah 66. 18; Zechariah IJ. 16-19). there—not merely in exile when suffering punishment, which makes even reprobates be sorry for sin, bat when received Into favour in your own
ch. 21. 2, 3. God calls Judah " my son" (cf. Exodus 4. 22; Hosea 11. 1). Fairbairn arbitrarily translates, " Perchance the sceptre of my son rejoiceth ; it (the sword) despiseth every tree." 11. the slayer—the Babylonian king In this case; in general, all the instruments of God's wrath (Revelation 19. 15). 1!J. terrors by reason of the sword, &c.—rather, "they (the princes of Israel) are delivered
land, remember—(Ch. 16. 61,63.) The humiliation of Judah (Nehemiah 9.) is a type of the future penitence of the whole nation (Hosea 5. 15; 6. 1; Zechariah 12. 10-14). God's goodness realized by the sinner is the only thing that leads to true repentance (Hosea 3. 5; Luke 7.37,38). 44. The English T'eriio/i chapter ought to have ended here, and ch. 21. begun with "Moreover," i&c, as in the Hebrew Bible, for my name's sake—(Ch. 36. 22.) Gratuitously; according to iny compassion, not your merits. After having commented on this verse, Calvin was laid on his deathbed, and his commentary ended. 45-49. An introductory brief description in enigma of the destruction by
xip to the sword together with my people." [Glassiuh.] smite . . . upon . . . thigh—a mark of grief (Jeremiah
31. 19.) 13. it is a trial-rather, "There is a trial" being made: the sword of the Lord will subject all to the ordeal. " What, then, if it contemn even the rod" (sceptre) of Judah? Cf. as to a similar scourge of unsparing trial. Job 9. 2.3. it shall be no more—the sceptre, i. e., the state, must necessarily then come to an end. Fulfilled in part at the overthrow of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, but fully at the time of "Shiloh's " (Messiah's) coming (Genesis 49.
fire and sword, detailed more explicitly in ch. 21. 46. south . . . south . . . south—three different Hebrew
10), when Judea became a Roman province. 14. smite
v,'ords, to express the certainty of the Divine displeasure resting on the region specified. The third term is from a root meaning dr.y, referring to thesuu's heat in the south
. . . hands together—(Numbers 24. 10), indicative of the indignant fury with which God will "smite" the people, sword . . . doubleil tlie third time—referring to the threefold calamity:—1. The taking of Zedekiah (to whom the "rod," or sceptre, may refer); 2. the taking of the
representing the burning judgments of God on the southern parts of Judea, of which Jerusalem was the capital,
set thy face—determiuately. The prophets used to turn themselves towards those who were to be the subjects of their prophecies, drop—as the rain, which flows in a continuous stream, sometimes gently (Deuteronomy 32. 2), sometimes violently (Amos 7. 16 ; Micah 2.6, Margin), us
city; 3. the removal of all those who remained with Geda-
liah. "Doubled" means "multiplied" or "repeated." The stroke shall be doubled and even trebled, of tlie slain-1. e., by which many are slain. As the Hebrew is singular, Faikbairn makes it refer to the king, "the sword of the great one that is slain," or "pierced through." entereth . . . privy chambers—(Jeremiah 9.
here, forest—the densely populated country of Judea;
trees representing people. 47. Are—every kind of judgment (ch. 19.12; 21. 3, "my sword;" Jeremiah 21.14). green tree . . . dry—fit and unfit materials for fuel alike
21.) The sword shall overtake them, not merely in the open battle-field, but in the chambers whither they flee to hide themselves (1 Kings 20. 30 ; 22. 25). Maurer trans-
" the righteous and the wicked," as explained in ch. 21. 3,
4 ; Luke 23. 31. Unsparing universality of the judgment! flaming flame—one continued and unextinguished flame. "The glowing flame." [Faikbairn.] faces—persons
lates, "which besieged them;" Fairbairn, " which pene-
trates to them." English Version is more literal. 15. point—" the whirling glance of the sword." [Fairbairn.] "The naked (bared) sword." [Henderson.] trains—lit.,, stumbling-blocks. Thel-r own houses and walls shall he stumbling-blocks in their way, whether they wish to
I'.ere tlie metaphor is merged in the reality. 49. Ezekiel complains that by this parabolic form of prophecy he only makes himself and it a jest to his countrymen. God therefore in ch;21. permits him to express the same prophecy more plainly.
fight or flee, made bright—made to glitter, wrapped,,
&c. viz., in the hand of him who holds the hilt, or in itsscabbard, that the edge may not be blunt when it is presently drawn forth to strike. G^^^lVS>,s\s Margin, trans-
Ver. l-;}2. Prophecy against Israel and Jeru.saLEM, and against Ammon. 3. the holy places—the three parts of the temple: the courts, the holy place, and the holiest. If "synagogues" existed before the Babylonian captivity, as Psalm 74. 8 seems to imply, they and ihe prospuchce, or oratories, may be included in the "holy places" here. 3. righteous . . . -wicked-not contradictory of cli. 18. 4, 9 ; and Genesis 18. 23. Ezekiel here views the mere owiJt'ard aspect of the indiscriminate universality of the national calamity. But really the same captivity to the "righteous" would prove a blessing as a wholesome discipline, which to the "wicked" would be an unmitigated punishment. The godly were sealed with a mark (ch. 9. 4), not for outward exemption from the common calamity, but as marked for the secret interpositions of Providence overruling even evil to their good. The godly were by comparison so few, that their salvation Is not brought into view here, but the universality of the judgment. 4. The "sword" did not, literally, slay all; but the judgments of God by the foe swept through the land " from the south to the north." 6. tvlth the breaking of thy loins—as one afBicted with pleurisy; or as a woman, in labour-throes, clasps her loins in pain, and heaves and sighs till the girdle of the loins is broken by the violent action of the body (Jeremiah 30. 6). 7. The abrupt 38
tales, "sharpened," &c. 16. Apostrophe to the sword. Go . . . one way—or, " Concentrate thyself;" " Unite thy forces on the right hand." [Grotius.] The sword is commanded to take the nearest route for Jerusalem, "whither their face was set," whether south or north (" right hand^ or left"), according to where the several partsof the Chaldean host may be. or other . . . on the leffc—rather,
"set thyself on the left." The verbs are well chosen. The main "concentration" of forces was to be on "the right hand," or south, the part of Judea in which Jerusalerm was, and which lay south in marching from Babylon, whereasthe Chaldean forces advancing on Jerusalem.from Egypt, of which Jerusalem was north, were fewer,, and therefo-re' "set thyself" is the verb used. 17. Jehovah Hiraaelf smites His hands together, doing what he had com-, manded Ezekiel to do {Note, v. 14), in token of his«mjting Jerusalem; cf. the similar symbolical action (2 Kings 13.
18, 19). cause . . . fury to rest—give ib full vent, and so satisfy It (ch. 5. 13). 19. two ways—The king coming from Babylon Is represented in the graj^liic style of Ezekiel as reaching the point where the road brancheil otf in two ways, one leading by the south,.by Tadmor or Palmyra, to Rabbath of Ammon, east of Jordan ; the othei by the north, by Riblah In Syria, ta.Jernaalem, and lies-
693.
A Prophecy against Jerusalem, EZEKIEL XXI. Israel and (he Ainmonita.
lfatin<< which way to take. Ezeklel Is tokl to "appoint tiif iwo ways" (as in eh. 4. 1), lor Nebucljadnezzar,
lish Version Is better: so Gesknius (2 Chronicles 36. 13;' Jeremiah 52. 2). when iniquity shall have an enil—(u.
29.) When thine iniquity, having reached its last stage of guilt, shall be put an end to by judgment (ch. 35. 5). 2G. diadem—rather, " <Ae mitre" of the holy priest (Exodus 2S.1; Zechariah 3. 5). His priestly emblem as reprosentative of the priestly people. This, as well as "the crown," the emblem of the kingdom were to be removed, until they should be restored and united in the Mediator, Messiah (Psalm 110.2,4; Zechariah 6. 13). [Faikbairx. As, however, the King Zedeklah alone, not the high priest also, is referred to in the context, English Version
tliousli knowing no otlier control but his own will and sviperstilion, liad really tliis path "appointed" for hiin by tlie all-ruling God. out of one lamI-^'(2., Babylon, choose . . . « jilacf— a huncl. 80 it is translated by Kaikhaikn, " make a finger-pont," viz., the head of the two ways, the hami-post pointing Nebuchadnezzar to the way to Jerusalem as the way he should select. But Mauker rightly supports English Version. Ezekiel is told to "choose the place" wliere Nebuchadnezzar should do as is described in i". 20, 21 ; so entirely does God order by the prophet every particular of place aud time in the inovi'mi;nts of the invader. 20. Rabl>atl» of tlie Ammojiites—distinct from Rabbah in Judah ('2 Samuel 12. 20). Ra)>t)ath is put first, as it was from her that Jerusalem, that doomed city, had borrowed manjof her idols, to Juclnli in .Trr>iis!«l«-m—instead of simply putting "Jerusalem," to imply the sword was to come not merely to Judah, but to its people ivithin Jerusalem, "defenced" thongh it was, its defences on which .the Jews relied so much would not keep the foe out. 21. parting— Ji'i., "mother of the way." As "head of the two ways" follows, wliich seems tautology after "parting of the way," Havkhnick translates, according to Arabic idiom, the highway, or prineipal road. English Version is not tautology, "head of the two ways" defining more accurately
is supported b}' Gesenius. this shall not be the tiame the diadem shall not be as it was. [Rosenmijli.er.] Nothing shall remain what it was. [Faikbaikn.] exnlt
. . .'low . . . abase . . . high—not the general trutli expressed (Proverbs 3. 34 ; Luke 1.52; James 4. 6; 1 Peter 5.
5); but specially referring to Messiah and Zedekiah contrasted together. The "tender plant . . . out of the dry ground" (Isaiali 53. 2) is to be "exalted" In the end (v. 27); the now " high" representative on David's throne, Zedekiah, is to be "abased." The outward relations of things
sliall be made to change places in just retaliation on the people for having so perverted the moral relations of things. [Hengstenberg.] 27. Lit., "An overturning, overturning, overturning, will I make it." Tlie tlireefold repetition denotes the awful certainty of the event; not as Rosenmuller explains, the overthrow of the
" parting of the way." made . . . bright—rather, "shook," from an Arabic root, arrows—Divination by arrows is here referred to: they were put into a quiver marked with the names of particular places to be attacked, and then shaken together; whichever came forth first intimated the one selected as the first to be attacked. fjEROME.] The same usage existed among the Arabs, and is mentioned in the Koran. In the Nineveh sculptures the king is represented with a cup in his right hand, liis left resting on a bow; also with two arrows in the right, and the bow in the left, probably practising divination, images Hebrew, teraphim : household gods, worshipped as a family talisman, to obtain direction as
A'lree, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah; for Zedekiah alone is referred to. it shall be no more, until he cornea whose right it is—strikingly parallel to Genesis 49. 10. Nowhere shall there be rest or permanence; all things shall be in fluctuation until He comes w^ho, as the rightful Heir, shall restore the throne of David that fell with Zedekiah. The Hcbrc^v for "right" is "judgment:" it perhaps includes, besides the right to rule, the idea of His) rule being one in righteoitsness (Psahn 72. 2; Isaiah 9. 6, 7; 11.4; Revelation 19.11). Others (Nebuchadnezzar, <&c.>, who held the rule of the earth delegated to them by Goii. abused it by unrighteousness, and so forfeited the " right." He both has the truest "right" to the rule, and exercisei
to the future and other blessings. First mentioned in Mesopotamia, whence Rachel brought them (Genesis 31.
it in "right." It is true the tribal "sceptre'' continued with Judah " till Shiloh came" (Genesis 49. 10); but there was no kingly sceptre till Messiah came, as the spiritual King then (John 18. 36, 37); this spiritual kingdom being about to pass into the literal, pei-sonal kingdom over Israel at His second coming, when, and not before, this prophecy shall not have Its exhaustive fulfilment (Luke 1. .32, 33; Jeremiah 3. 17; 10. 7; "To thee doth it appertain"). 38. Lest Amnion should think to escape because NebucJiadnezzar h,ad taken the route to Jerusalem, Ezekiel denounces Judgment against Ammon, without the prospect of a restoration such as awaited Isr.ael. Jeremiah 49. 6, it
19, 31 1 ; put away by Jacob (Genesis 35. 4); set up by Micah as his household gods (Judges 17. 5) ; stigmatized as idolatry (1 Samuel 15. 23, Hebrew ; cf. Zechariah 10. 2, Margin). liver—they judged of the success, or failure, of an undertaking by tlie healthy, or unhealthy, state of the liver and entrails of a sacrifice. 22. Rather, "/« his right hand was (is) the divination," i. e., he holds up in his
rigiit luind the arrow marked with "Jerusalem," to encwurage his army to march for it. captains—the Margin, " battering-rams," adopted by Fairbaikn, is leSs appropriate, for " Ijattering-rams" follow presently after. [Gror I I's. ] open the mouth in . , . slaughter i. e., commanding slaugliter: raising the war-cry of death. Not as GrSENius, "to open the mouth ii'ilh the ivar-shout." 23. Unto the Jews, though credulous of divinations when in their favour, Nel)uchadnezziir's divination "shall be (seen) as
is true, speaks of a " bringing again of its captivity," but this probably refers to its spiritual restoration under Messiah ; or, if referring to it politically, must refer to hut a partial restoration at the downfall of Babylon under Cyrus, their reproach—This constituted a leading feature in their guilt; they treated with proud contumely the covenant people after the taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (ch. 25. 3, 6; Zephaniah 2.9,10), and appropriated Israel's territory (Jeremiah 49. 1;. Amos 1.
falsi'." to llieni, itc—This gives the reason which makes the Ji'ws fancy themselves safe from the Chaldeans, viz.,
that lhey "have sworn" to the latter "oaths" of alleginnce, forgetting that they had violated them (ch. 17. 13,
i;i-15). furbislietl, to consmne — Maurer punctuates thus, " Drawn for the slaughter, it Is furbished to devour ('consume'), to glitter." English Version, "to consume because of the glittering," means, "to consume by reason
•1'), Ki, IS), hut Nebuchadnezzar vtWX remember in consulting his idols that he swore to Zedeklah by them, but that Zedekiiih broke the league. [Grotius.] Rather, Ood
v. ill remenU)ef against them (Revelation 16. 19) their vio-
Lsit ing their oath sworn by the true God, whereas Nebuchadnezzar kept his oath sworn by a false god; v. 21 con-
of the lightning Jtashlike rapidity with which it falls." Five years after the fall of Jerusalem, Ammon was destroyed for aiding Ishmael in usurping the government of Judea against the will of the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25. 25; Jeremiah 41. 15). [Grotius.] 29. see vanity . . . divine h lie—Ammon, too, had false diviners who flattered them with assurances of safety; the only result of which will be to " bring Ammon upon the necks," etc., /. e., toad.l th<. Ammonites to the headless trunks ol the slain of Judah, whose bad example Ammon followed, tuid " whose day" of visitation for their guilt " is coino." when their iniquity ahall have an end—see Note, v. 25. 30. Shall I
tirij\s this. 24:. Their unfaithfulness to Nebuchadnezzar v;as a type of their general unfaithfulness to their covenant God. ivith the hand viz., of the king of Babylon.
2.7. profajni—.!is having desecrated by Idolatry and perjury his otlice as the Ijord's anointed. IlAVEiiNiCK trans-
lates, as in V. 1 1, " slain," i. e., not literall.v, but virtually; to K/.i-klel's idealizing view Zedeklah was the grand victim " |)ier< ed tlirongh" by God's sword of Judgment, as his sons were slain before his eyes, whlcli were then put out, luid lie wa.s led a cajitlve In chains to Babylon. Kn.g5M
KEAPEKS AND GLEANliBS OF ANCIENT PALESTINE.
OotTs Judgment on Jerufsalem's Sins. EZEKIEL XXII, XXIIl. Isruers and Judah^s PumshmeiU.
prophets have conspired both to propagate error and to oppose the messages of God's servants. 77i(?2/ are mentioned first, as their bad inlluence extended the widest, prey—theiraim was greed of gain, "treasure, and precious things" (Hosea 6. 9; Zeplianiah 3. 3,4; Matthew 23. 14). made . . . many widows—by occasioning, through false prophecies, the war with the Chaldeans in which tlie husbands fell. 20. Her priests—whose " lips should hava kept knowledge" (Malaclii 2. 7). violated—not simiily transgressed ; but, luive done violence to tlie law, by wresting
ssinse It to return Into his slieath—ti>. , without first de-
?ti<).vin<; Ainmoii. Certainly not (Jeremiali,47. 6, 7). Others, as Margin, less suitably read it imperatively, "Cause it to return," i. e., after it h:is done the work appointed to it. in tUe Ian<lof tlij' nnlivity—Am mon was not to be carried away captive as Jiidah, but to perish in his own land.
31. blow agnlust thee In, &c.—rather, " blow upon thee with the fire," Ac. Image from smelting metals (ch. 22.
20,21). hmttsh—ferocious. sUllfiU to destroy—2t<., arti-
ficeri 0/ (le-ilriiction ; alluding to Isaialr 54.16. 3!J. thy blood shall be i. e., shall flow, be no more remembeixcl—be consigned as a nation to oblivion.
it to wrong ends, and putting wrong constructions o<> it. put no difference luetween tlie holy and profane, Ac. made no distinction between the clean and uiKdean ( '^eviticus 10. 10), the Sabbath and other days, san(^tioning violations of that holy day. " Holy" means, what is dedicoled
Ver. 1-31. God's Judgment on the Sinfulness of JeRUSALESi. Repetition of the charges In ch. 20. ; only that there they were stated in an historical review of the past and present; here the j)rf.?e/i< sins of the nation exclusively are brought forward, a. See ch. 20. 4, i.e., "Wilt thou
to God; "profane," what is in common use; "unclean," what is forbidden to be eaten; "clean," what is lawful to be
eaten. I am x»'ofaned among tliem—they abuse my name to false or unjust purposes. 27. princes—wlio should have employed the influence of their position for the people's welfare, made "gain" their sole aim. wolves —notorious for fierce and ravening cruelty (Micaii 3. 2, 3,
not judge?" &c. (cf. ch. 2.3. .30).. the bloody city—lit., the
city of bloods ; so called on account of murders iierpetrated
9-11; John 10.12). 28. Referring to the false assurances of peace with which the prophets flattered the people, that they should not submit to the king of Babylon (note,
in her, and sacrifices of children to Molech (v. 3, 4, 6, 9; ch.
24. e. 9). 3. sheddeth blood . . . that her time may come—Instead of deriving advantage from her bloody
ch. 13. 10; 21.29; Jeremiah C. 14; 23. 10,17; 27.9,10). 29. The people—put Inst, after tlie mention of tliose in otlice. Corruption had spreail downwards tlirough the whole community, wrongfully i. e., without cause, gratuitously, without the stranger proselyte giving any just provocation; nay, he of all others being one who ought to have been won to the worship of Jeiiovah by kindness, instead of being alienated by oppression; especially as the Israelites were commanded to remember that they themselves had been "strangers in F.gypt" (Exo<lus 22.
sacrifices fo idols, she only thereby brought on herself "the time" of her punisliment. against herself—(Proverbs 8. .36.) 4. thy days—the shorter period, viz., that of
t}ie siege, -thy years—the longer period of t/ie captivity. The " days" and " years" express that she is ripe for pun-
'ishme'nt. 5. Ijifamous—they mockingly call thee, "Thou polluted one in name (Margin), and full of confusion" [Faikbaihn] (referring to the tumultuous violence prevalent in it). Thus the nations "far and near" mocked her as at once sullied in character and in actual fact law-
21 ; 23. 9). 30. the hedge—the wall (nolc, ch. 13. 5). Image for leading the people to repentance, tlie gap—the bi eai h (Psalm 100. 23). Image for interceding between the people and Go(i (Genesis 20. 7; Exodus .32. U ; Numbers 16. 4S). Ifoiind none—(Jeremiah 5. 1.) Not that literally there was not a righteous man in the city. For Jeremiah, Barucli, <tc., were still there ; hut Jeremiah had been forbidden to pray for the people (Jeremiah 11. 14), as being doomed to wralh. None now, of the godly, knowing the desperate state of the people, and God's purpose as to them, was willing longer to interpose between God's wrath and them. And none "among them," i. e., among those just enumerated as guilty of such sins (v. 25-29), was morally able for such an office. 31. their own way . . . recompensed upon their heads—(Ch. 9. 10 ; 11. 21 ; 16. 43 ; Proverbs 1. 31 ; Isaiah
less. What a sad contrast to the Jerusalem once designated "the holy city!" 6. Rather, "The princes . . . each according to liis power, were In thee, to shed blood" (as if
this was the only object of their existence). "Power," lit., arm; they, who ought to have been patterns of justice, made their own arm of might their onlj' law. 7. set light by—children have made light of, disrespected, father, &c. (Deuleronoiiiy 27. 16). From i'.7 to v. 12 are enumerated
tlie sins committed in violation of Moses' law. 9. men
tliat carry talcs—jn/ormcr«, who by :nisrepresentations cause innocent blood to be shed (I,evitlcns 19. 16). Idt., "One who goes to and fro as a merchant." 10. set apart for pollution—i. e., set apart as unclean (Leviticus 18. 19). la. forgotten me—the root of all sin (Deuteronomy 32.
18; Jeremiah 2. 32; 3. 21). 13. smitten mine hand—in token cf tlie indignant vengeance which I will execute on thee (note, ch. 21. 17). 14. (Ch. 21. 7.) 15. consume thy
3. II; Jeremiah 6. 19.)
ftlthiuess out of thee—the object of God in scattering the Jews. IG. take t!iine Inheritance in thyself—formerly thou wast mine iuliei itance ; Imt now, full of guilt, thou
Ver. 1-49. Israel's and Judah's Sin aud Punishment ARE PARAIiOLICALl/Y PORTRAYED UNDER THE NAMES Aholah and Aholibaii. The imagery is similar to that in ch. 16.; but here the reference is not as there so much
art no longer mine, ljut thine own inheritance to thyself; " in the sight of the heathen," i.e., even they shall see that, now that thou liiust become a captive, thou art no longer owned as mine. [Vatablus.] Fairhairn, &c., need-
to the breach of the spiritual marriage covenant with God by the people's idolatries, as by their worldly spirit, and their trusting to alliances witli the heathen for safety, rather than to God. 2. two ... of oi«e mother—Israel and Judah, one nation by birtli from tlie same ancestress, Sarah. 3. FA-en so early in their history as their Egyptian sojourn, they committed idolatries (^'otes, ch. 20. 6-S; Joshua 24. 14). In their youth—an aggravation of their
lessly take the Hebrew from a different root, " thou shalt he polluted by (' W [Mknderson]) thyself," &c.; theheathen shall regard thee as a polluted thing, wlio hast Virought thine own reproacli on tliyself. 18. dross . . . brass-
Israel has become a worthless compound of the dross of
ellver (implying not merely corruption, but degeneracy from good to Ijad, Isaiah 1. 22, especially offensive) and of the baner m<!tals. Hence the people must be thrown into the furnace of judgment, that the bad may be consumed, and tlic good separated (Jeremiah 0. 29, 30). 23. From
sin. It was at the very time of their receiving extraordinary favours from God (ch. 10. 6, 22). they bruised—r/z., the Egyptians. 4. Aliolahi. e., " Ifer tent" (put for wor-
ship, as the first worsliip of God in Isr.ael was in a tent or
this verse to the end he shows the general corruption of
tabernacle), as contrasted with Aholibah, !. e., " 3^1/ tent
all ranks. /44. land . . . not cleansed—not cleared or cultivated ; all a scene of desolation ; a fit emblem of tlie moral wilderness slate of the people, nor rained upon
in her." The Bethel worship of Samaria was of her own
devising, not of God's appointment; the teinpie-worslilp
of Jerusaletn was expressly ap}>ointed by Jehovah, who "dwelt" there, "setting up His tabernacle among the people as His" (Exodus 2o. S; Leviticus 20. 11, 12; Joshua
—II mark of Divine " indignation;" as tiie early and latter
rain, on which tlie productiveness of the land depended, «as one of the great covenant blessings. Joel i2. 23) prom-
22. 19; Psalm 70. 2). the elder—Samaria is calhil "the
ises the return of tlie former and latter rain, witii the res-
toration of God's favour. 25. conspiracy — tiie 'rvlsi*
elder " because she preceded Judah in her aposu-xsy and
The Wliorcdoins of EZEKIEL XXIII. Aholah and Aholibah.
Its punishment, tliey were mine—previous to apostasy under Jeroboam, Samaria (Israel, or the ten tribes), equally with Judah, worshipped the true God. God there-
danger of sufTering the memory to dwell on the pleasure
felt in past sins. 20. their paramours—i. e., her paramours among them (the Egyptians) ; she doted upon their persons as her paramours {v. 5, 12, 16). flesh—the membrum virile (very large in the ass), as Leviticus 15. 2, Margin; Ezekiel 16. 26. issue of horses — the seminal
fore never renounced the right over Israel, but sent prophets, as Elijah and Elisha, to declare His will to thera.
5. wlieii . . . mine lit., "under me," i.e., subject to me ns her lawful husband, nelglibours—on the north-east
issue. The horse was made by the Egyptians the hieroglyphic for a lustful person. 31. calledst to remembrance —"didst repeat." [Maurek.] in braising—in suflering ... to be bruised. 23. lovers . . . alienated — {v. 17.)
'.lie kingdom of Israel bordered on that of Assyria; for the latter liad occupied much of Syria. Their neighbourhood in locality was emblematical of their being near in corruption of morals and worship. The alliances of Israel with Assyria, which are the chief subject of reprobation here, tended to this (2 Kings 15. 19; 16. 7, 9; 17. 3; Hosea 8.
Illicit love, soon or late, ends in open hatred (2 Samuel 13.
15). The Babylonians, the objects formerly of their Godforgetting love, but now, with characteristic fickleness, objects of their hatred, shall be made by God the instruments of their punishment. 23. Pekod, &c.—(Jeremiah
H). 6. blue—rather, "purple." [Fairbairn.] As a lust-
ful woman's passions are fired by showy dress and youth-
ful appearance in men, so Israel was seduced by the pomp and power of Assyria (cf. Isaiah 10. 8). horsemen—cava-
50. 21.) Not a geographical name, but descriptive of Babylon. " Visitation," peculiarly the land of "judgment ;" in a double sense: actively, the inflicter of judgment on Judah; passively, as about to be afterwards herself the object of judgment. Shoa . . . Koa— "rich . . . noble," descriptive of Babylon in her prosperity . . . having all the world's wealth and dignity at her disposal. Mauker suggests that as descriptive appellatives are subjoined to the proper name, "all the Assyrians" in the second hemistich of the verse (as the verse ought to be divid<!d at " Koa"), so Pekod, Shoa, and Koa must be appellatives descriptive of "The Babylonians and . . . Chaldeans" iu the first hemistich; "Pekod" meaning Prefects; Shoa . .
liers. 7. all tlieir idols—there was nothing that she refused to her lovers. 8. whoredoms brought from Egypt —the calves set up in Dan and Bethel by Jeroboam, answering to the Egyptian bull-formed idol Apis. Her alU-
ancp-1 with E<:ypt poKtieaUy are also meant (Isaiah 30. 2,
3; 31. 1). The ten tribes probably resumed the Egyptian
rites, in order to enlist the Egyptians against Jvidah (2 Chronicles 12. 2-4). 9. God, in righteous retribution, turned their objects of trust into the instruments of their punishment : Pal, Tiglatii-pileser, Esar-haddou, and Shalmaneser (2 Kings 15. 19, 29; 17. 3, 6, 2-1; Ezra 4. 2, 10). "It was their sin to have sought after such lovers, and it was
Koa, " rich . . . princely." desirable young men—strong irony; alluding to v. 12, these "desirable young men" whom thou didst so "dote upon" for their manly vigour of appearance, shall by that very vigour be the better able to chastise thee. 24r. with chariots— or, "with armaments:" .soLXX. ; "axes" [Maurer]; or, joining it with "wagons," translate, "with scythe - armed wagons," or "chariots." [Grotius.] wheels—the unusual height of these increased their formidable appearance (ch. 1. 16-20). tlieir Judgments — which awarded barbarously severe punishments (Jeremiah 52. 9; 29. 22). 25. take away thy nose . . . ears—adulteresses were punished so among the Egyptians and Chaldeans. Oriental beauties wore ornaments in the ear and nose. Howjust the retribution, that the features most bejewelled should be mutilated ! So, allegorically as to Judah, the spiritual adulteress. 26. strip
lobe their punishment that these lovers should become their destroyers." [Fairbairn.] 10. became famous
lit., "she became a name," i.e., as notorious by her punishment as she liad been by her sins, so as to be quoted as
a icarninrj to others, women—i. e., neighbouring peoples. 11. Judah, the southern kingdom, though having the "warning" {Note, ti. 10) of the northern kingdom before her eyes, instead of profiting by it, went to even greater lengths in corruption than Israel. Her greater spiritual privileges made her guilt the greater (ch. 16. 47, 51; Jeremiah 3.11). 1^. (Ver. 6, 23.) vaost ^orgeovLsly—lU., to per-
fection. Grotius translates, " wearing a crown," or " chap-
let," .such as lovers wore in visiting their mistresses. 13. one way— botli alike forsaking God for heathen confidences. 1*. vermilion-the peculiar colour of the Chaldeans, as purple was of the Assyrians. In striking agreement witli this verse is the fact that the Assyrian sculptures lately discovered have painted and coloured bas-reliefs, red, blue, and black. The Jews (for instance Jehoiakim, Jeremiah 22. 14) copied these (cf. ch. 8. 10). 13. exceeding in dyed attire—rather, " in ample dyed tttrbftns ;" lit., "redundant with dyed turbans." The Assyrians delighted in ample, flowing, and richly-coloured tunics, scarfs, girdles, and head-dresses or turbans,varying In ornaments according to the rank. Chnldea . . . land of their i»atlvlty—between the Black and Caspian Seas {Note, Isaiah 2.3. 13). "Princes;" lit., a first-rate military class that fouglit by threes in the chariots, one guiding the
. . . of . . . clothes—whereby she attracted her paramours
(ch. 16. 39). 27. Thus . . . make . . . lewdness to cease—The captivity has made the Jews ever since abhor Idolatry, not only on their return from Babylon, but for the last eighteen centuries of their dispersion, as foretold (Hosea 3. 4). 38. (Ver. 17, 18; ch. 16. 37.) 29. take away . . . thy labour i. e., the fruits of thy labour, leave thee naked —as captive females are treated. 31. her cup—of punishment (Psalm 11. 6; 75. 8; Jeremiah 25. 15, Ac). Thy guilt and that of Israel being alike, your punishment shall be alike. 34. break . . . sherds—so greedily shalt thou suck out every drop like one drinking to madness (the effect invariably ascribed to drinking God's cup of wratii, Jeremiah 51. 7; Habakkuk 2. 16) that thou shalt craunch the very shreds of it, i. e., there shall be no evil left which thou shalt not taste, pluck ofl' thine own breasts—enraged against them as the ministers to thine adultery.
horses, tlie other two fighting. 16. sent messengers . . . into Chaldea—(Ch. 16. 29.) It was she tliat .solicited tlie Chaldeans, not they her. Probably the occasion was when Judah sought to strengthen herself by a Chaldean alliance against a menaced attack by Egypt (cf. 2 Kings 23. 29-
3.'j. forgotten me—(Jeremiah 2. 32; 13. 25.) cast me behind tliy back—(1 Kings 14. 9; Nehemiah 9. 26.) bear . . . tliy lewdness—i. e., its penal consequences (Proverbs 1.
.3.5; 24. 1-7). God made the object of their sinful desire the instrument of their punishment. .Jehoiakim, probably by a stipulation of tribute, enlisted Nebuchadnezzar against
31). 36-414r. A summing up of the sins of the two sisters, especially tjiose of Judah. 36. Wilt thou (not) Judge {Note, ch. 20. 4). 38. the same day—on the very day that they had burned their children to Molech In the valley of Gehenna, they shamelessly and hypocritically presented themselves as worshippers In Jehovah's temple (.Jeremiah 7. 9, 10). 40. messenger waa sent viz., by Judah {v. 16; Isaiah 57. 9). paintedst . . . eyes—(2 Kings
Pharaoh, whose tributary he previously had been; failing to keep his stipulation, he brought on himself Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance. 17. alienated from them viz., from the Chaldeans: turning again to the Egyptians {v. 19), trying by their help to throw ofTher solemn engagements to Babylon (cf. Jeremiah 37. 5,7; 2 Kings 24.7). 18. my mind was alienated from her lit., ivas broken off from her. Just retribution for "her mind being alienated {broken off) from the Chaldeans" (v. 17), to whom she had sworn fealty (ch. 17. 12-19). "Discovered" implies the open shamelessness of her apostasy. 19. Israel first "called"
9. 30, Margin; Jeremiah 4. 30). Black paint was spread on the eyelids of beauties to make the white of the eye more attractive by the contrast, so Judah left no seductive art untried. 41. bed—divan. Whilst men reclined at table, women sat, as It seemed indelicate for them to lie down. (Amos 6. 4.) [Grotius.] table—i. e., the idolatrous altar.
licr lusts, practised when In Egypt, "to her (fond) remembrance," and then actually returned to them. Mark the 596
Vision of the Boiling Caldron, EZEKIEL XXIV. and of the Dealfiof EzelieTs Wij^
palpable. The blood of Abel, though the ground received
mine Incense—which I had given thee, and which thou
it, still cries to heaven for vengeance (Genesis 4. 10, Jl), much more blood shamelessly exposed on the bare rock, set her blood—she shall be paid back in kind (Matthew 7.
onehtest to liave offered to me (ch. 16. 18, 19; Hosea 2. 8; cf. Proverbs 7. 17). 43. Sabeans—Not content with the
princely, handsome Assyrians, the sisters brought to themselves the rude robber hordes of Sabeans (Job 1. 15). The Kerl, or Margin, reads "drunkards." upon tlielr hands—upon the hands of the sisters, i. e., they allured
2). She openly shed blood, and her blood shall openly be shed. 9. the pile for fire—the hostile materials for the city's destruction. 10. spice it well—that the meat may be the more palatable, t. e., I will make the foe delight in
garaaria and Judah to worship their gods. 43. Will Uiey, &c.—Is it possible that paramours will desire any longer to commit whoredoms with so worn-out an old adulteress? 45. the righteous men — the Chaldeans; the executioners of God's righteous vengeance (ch. Ifi. ;«), not that they were " righteous" in themselves (Habalikuk
its destruction as much as one delights in well-seasoned, savoury meat. Grotius, needlessly departing from the obvious sense, translates, " Let it be boiled down to a compound." 11. set it empty . . . that . . . brass . . . may burn . , . that . . . scum . . . may be consumed—even the consumption of the contents is not enough ; tiie caldron itself which is infected by the poisonous scum must be destroyed, i. e., the city itself must be destroyed, not merely the inhabitants, just as the very house infected with leprosy was to be destroyed (Leviticus 14. 34-15). 12.
]. 3, 12, 13). 4fi. a company—properly, a council of judges passing sentence on a criminal. [Gkotius.] The "removal" and "spoiling" by the Chaldean army is the execution of the judicial sentence of God. 47. stones—the
legal penalty of the adulteress (eh. 16. 40, 41 ; John 8. 5). Answering to the stones hurled bj' the Babylonians from engines in besieging Jerusalem, houses . . . fire—ful-
Tierse?/-rather, " she hatli wearied me out with lies;" or rather " with vain labours" on my part to purify her without being obliged to have recourse to judgments (cf. Isaiah 43. 24; Malachi 2. 17). [Mauker.] However, English Version gives a good sense (cf. Isaiah 47. 13; 57. 10). 13. lewdness—determined, deliberate wickedness; from a Hebrew root, "to purpose." I have purged thee—i. e.,
filled (2 Chronicles 36. 17, 19). 48. (Ver. 27.) that all . . . may be tanght not to do, &c.—(Deuteronomy 13. 11.) 49. bear the sins of your idols i. e., the punishment of your
idolatrj-. know that I am the Lord God—i. e., know it
to your cost . . . by bitter suffering.
I liave left nothing untried which would tend towards purging thee, by sending prophets to invite thee to repentance, by giving thee the law with all its promises, privileges, and tlireats. thou shalt not be purged . . . any more i. e., by my gracious interpositions ; thou shalt be left to thine own course, and to take its fatal consequences. 14. go back — desist; relax. [Fairbairn.] 15. Second part of the vision; announcement of the death of Ezekiel's wife, and prohibition of the usual signs of mourning. 16. desire of. . . eyes—his wife: representing tlie sanctuary iv. 21) in which the Jews so much gloried. The energy and subordination of Ezekiel's whole
CHAPTEE XXIV.
Ver. 1-27. Vision of the Boiling Caldron, and of THE Death of Ezekiel's Wife. 1, 2. Ezekiel proves his Divine mission by announcing the very day (" this same day") of the beginning of the investment of the city by Nebuchadnezzar; "the ninth year," viz., of Jehoiachin's
captivity, " the tenth day of the tenth month ;" though he was 300 miles away from Jerusalem among the captives
at the Chebar (2 Kings 25. 1 ; Jeremiah 39. 1). set himself
—?rtt<Z .5ic"(/c/ "lay against." po<^-caldron. Alluding to the self-confident proverb used among the people, ch. 11. 3
life to ills proplietic ofllce is strikingly displayed in this narrative of his wife's death. It is the only memoi'able event of his personal history which he records, and this only in reference to his soul-absorbing work. His natural tenderness is shown by that graphic touch, "the desire of thine eyes." What amazing subjection, then, of his individual feeling to his prophetic duty Is manifested in the simple statement {v. 18), " So I spake ... in the morning; and at even my wife died; and I did in the morning as I was commanded." stroke— a sudden visitation. The suddenness of it enhances the self-control of Ezekiel in so entirely merging individual feeling, which must have been especially acute under such trying circumstances, in the higher claims of duty to God. 17. Forbear to cry—
(see my Note), " This city is the caldron and we be the
flesh ;" your proverb shall prove awfully true, but In a different sense from what you intend. So far from the city proving an iron caldron-like defence from the fire, it shall be as a caldron set on the fire, and the people as so many pieces of meat sulyected to boiling heat. See Jeremiah 1.
1.3. 4. pieces thereof—those which properly ftetonj; to it, as its own. every good piece . . . choice bones i. e., the most distinguisiied of the people. The " choice bones" in the pot have flesh adhering to them. The " bones" under the pot (v. 5) are those having no flesh and used as fuel, answering to the poorest who suffer first, and are put out of pain sooner than the rich who endure what answers to the slower process of boiling. 5. burn . . . bones—rather,
or, "Lament in silence:" not forbidding sorrow, but the loud expression of it. [Grotius.] ho mourning—typical of the universality of the ruin of Jerusalem, which would preclude mourning, such as Is usual where calamity is but partial. "The dead" is purposely put in ihe plural, as referring ultimately to the dead who should perish at tiie taking of Jerusalem; though the singular might havb been expected, as Ezekiel's wife was the immediate sub
"pile tlie bones." Lit., "Let there be a round pile of the bones." herein— " in the midst of it." 6. scum—not ordinary, but poisonous scum, i. e., the people's all-pervading wickedness, bring it out piece by piece—"it," the contents of the pot; its flesh, i.e., "I will destroy the people of the city, not all at the same time, but by a series of successive attacks." Not as Fairbairn, "on its every piece let it (the poisonous scum) go forth." let no lot fall on It—t. e., no lot, such as is sometimes cast, to decide who are to be destroyed and who saved (2 Samuel 8.2; Joel 3. 3; Obadlah 11.; Nahuin .3. 10). In former carryings away of captives, lots were cast to settle who were to go, and who to stay, but now all alike are to be cast out without distinction of rank, age, or sex. 7. upon the top of rock—or, "the dry, bare, exposed rock," so as to be conspl<Hious to all. Blood poured on a rock is not so soon absorbed as l>loo<l poured on the earth. The law ordered the blood even of a beast or fowl to be "covered with the dust" (Leviticus 17. 13); but she was so shameless as to be
ject referred to: "make no mourning" «uc7i as is usual " for the dead, and such as shall be hereafter In Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 16. 5-7). tire of thine head—thy headdress. [Fairbairn.] Jerome explains, "Tliou shalt retain the hair which is usually cut In mourning." The
fillet, binding the hair about the temples like a chaplet, was laid aside at such times. Uncovering the head was an ordinary sign of mourning in priests; whereas others covered their heads in mourning (2 Samuel 15. 30). The reason was, the priests had their head-dress of fine twined linen given them for ornament, and as a badge of ofllce. The high priest, as having on his head the holy anointing
at no pains to cover up the blood of Innocent men slain in her. Bloud, as the consummation of all sin, presupposes every otlicr form of guilt. 8. that It might cause —God purposely let her so sliamelessly pour the blood on the bare rock, "that it might" the more loudly and openly cry for vengeance from on high ; and that the connection be>.we(>u the guilt and the punishment might be the more
oil, WHS forbidden in anj/ case to lay aside his head-dresw. But the priests might do so in the case of the death of the nearest relatives (Leviticus 21. 2, 3, 10); tiiey then put on inferior attire, sprinkling also on their heads dust, and ashes (cf. Leviticus 10. C, 7). shoes upon thy feet— whereas mourners went "barefoot" (2 Samuel 15.30), cover not . . . lips-rather, the upper lip, with tlie mous 697
GocVs Vtwjeance upon EZEKIEL XXV. Ammon, Moab, Seir, Edum, etc.
tache (LoviHcUf) 1:1. J.j; Mic.-ili 3.7). bread of men — the oreml usuiill.y brought to iiiounicrs l)y iriondM in token of Bviiipatliy. So tin? "cup of cousoliitloii" l^i'oiiKlit (.loivj-
destruction of Jp.ru.salem (2 Kings 24. 2). 4-. men of . . East— /(/., children of the East, the nomad tribes of Arabia
De.serta, east <jf the .Jordan and tlie Dead Sea. palaces— their nomadic cncamjimenls or folds, surrounded with mudwalls, are so-calleil in iron.y. Where thy " palaces" once stood, there shall their very diflerent "palaces" stand. Fulfilled after I lie ravaging of llieir region by Nebuchad-
iiiiali 1G.7). "Of riion" luciius sucli iiN is usually lui iilstK^d lumen. So I.sniali 8.1, "a rnnn's pen;" Ili^volation 21.17, " tlie measure of a man." 19. what iUt-ne tilings arc lo MS—Tlie people iH-rceivc! tluit K/.ekiel'.s straiif^e conduct
nezzai-, shortly aftcsr the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. ch,
lias a .symbolical meaning as lo lliemselve.s ; tliey ask what Is tliat meaning 7 ex<fll«-ncy of your :<tri-ngth —(t'f. Amos 6. 8.) The object of your pride and confidence
21. 22; Jeremiah 19. 1-28). 5. Iiabba5i—meaning the Great Aminon'.s metropolis. Under the Ptolemies it was rebuilt under t he name I'liiladelphia; the ruins are called Amman now, but there is no dwelling inliablted. Ammonites—
( Jeremiah 7. -1, 10, 11). rtcsire of... eyes—(Psalm 27.4.) The antitype to K/.ekiel's wife (u. 10). pUleth—loveth, as
i. e., the Ammonite region is to be a "conching-place for
)iity is akin to love: yearned over. "Profane" is an appropriate word. They had profaned the temple with idolatry; (jod, in just retribution, will profane it with the Ciialdean sword, i. c, lay it in the dust, as Ezekiel's wife, sons . . . <lanf;'»4frs . . . left—the cliildren le/l behind in
flocks," ii/z.,of the Arabs. The "camels," being the chief beast of burden of tlie Chaldeans, is put first, as tlieir invasion was to prepare the Ammonite land for the Arab "flock.s." Instead of busy men, there shall be
"still and coviching flocks." 6, 7. "Because thou hast clapi)ed thine hands," (sxulting over the <lownfall of Jerusalem, "/also will stretch out mine liand upon thee"
Ju<lea, when the parents were carried away. 3^. (.Jeremiah 115.6,7.) So general shall be the calamity, that all ordinary usages of mourning sli,ill be suspended. 33. yc shall not moiirn . . . tont . . . pine away for yonr in-
(to which ch. 21.17 also may refer, "I will smite mine hands together"), hands . . . feet . . . heart—with the whole inward, feeling, and with every outward indication. 8l.ampini) with the fool means dancing fmjoy
i<intf its-The Jews' not mourni.jg was vj be not the result of insensibility, uny more than Ezekiel's not mourning
for liis wife was not from want of feeling. They could not
1. a spoil—so JTehrev) Margin or Keri, for the text or Chetib, "meat" (.so ch. 26. 5; .34.28). Their .c/oorf.? were to be a "spoil to the foe;" their state was to be "cut ofT," .so as to be no more a " people ;" and they were as individuals,
in their exile manifest publicly their lamentation, but
tiiey would privately " mourn one to another," Their " in-
i()uilies" would then be their chief sorrow ("pining away"), as feeling that these were the cause of their suf-
for the most part, to be "destroyed." 8. Moab, Seir, and Ammon were contiguous countries, stretching in one line from Gilead on the north to the Red Sea. They there-
ferings(cf. Leviticus 26. .39; Tjamentalions 3. 3U). The fullest fulfilment is still future (Zechariah 12. 10-14). 34. sign—
tyi)ical representative in his own person of what was to
fore naturally acted in concert, and in joint hostility to Judea. Jndali Is like . . . all . . . heatlicn—The Jews
befall them (Isaiah 20.3). wlien this coineth—alluding I)robably to their taunt, as if God's word spoken by His prophets would never come to pass. "Where is the word of the Lord? Let it conie now" (Jeremiah 17.1.5). When the prophecy is fulfilled, "ye shall know (to your cost) that I am the Lord," who thereby show my power and
fare no better than others: it is of no use to them to .serve Jehovah, who, they say, is the only true God. 0, 10. open
. . . from the cities—J will open up the side, or border of Moab (metaphor from a man whose side is open to blows), from the direction of the cities on his north-west border beyond the Arnon, once assigned to Reuben (Joshua 13.
fulfil my word spoken by my prophet (John 13. 19; 14.29).
3.5, rJG. "The day" referred to in these verses is the day of the overthrow of the temple, when the fugitive "es-
15-21), but now in the hands of their original owners; and the "men of the East," the wandering Bedouin hordes,
c.apes." But " that day," in v. 27, is the day on which the
shall enter through these cities into Moab and waste it. Moab accordingly was so wasted by tliem, that long be-
fugitive brings the sad news to Ezekiel, at the Chebar. la the interval the prophet suspended his prophecies as
fore the time of Christ it had melted away among the hordes of the desert. For "cities," Grotius translates the Hebrew as proper names, the Ar and Arocr, on the Arnon. Hence the Hebrew for cities, "Ar" is repeated twice (Numbers 21. 28; Deuteronomy 2.36; Isaiah 1.5. 1). glory of the coxmtry-The region of Moab was richer than that of Ammon; it answers to the modern Belka, the richest
to t/ie Je-:i 8, as was foretold. Afterwards his mouth was "opened," and no more " dumb" (ch. 3. 26, 27 ; cf. v. 27 here
In ai. 24 ; and ch. *3. 21, 22).